Here’s my review of 2018. It was a dicey year for me, with some bright spots. I’ll start with the Attack. Those of you who follow me on Facebook and Twitter—and I posted a blog on WordPress, but took it down for legal reasons—know that in July, 2018 I was violently attacked on a sunny summer afternoon while I was walking around beautiful Lake Merritt in Oakland, California.
A man literally sprang out of the flowering bushes and confronted me on the sidewalk. He tried to beat me up, drawing his fist back to punch me in the face. I fended him off, then he shoved me down a pedestrian walkway into two lanes of oncoming traffic. I shuffled my feet to avoid plunging into the traffic and fell on my right hip on the concrete street curb. The Oakland police apprehended and arrested him. I took an ambulance ride to the hospital, was x-rayed and informed that I had a fractured right hip and broken right femur. Early in the morning the next day, I underwent three hours’ of surgery under general anesthetic.
It’s been a long, brutal six months since then, but as of January 1, 2019, I am walking without a walker or a cane. I’m not as mobile as I used to be. I’m working on that, doing physical therapy every day. I’ve gone grocery shopping with my husband three times, going into the market without a cane (but leaning on a shopping cart). I still have pain, especially in my knee, but I’m walKING! Thrilled about that. And I’m about a third of the way through a nonfiction book inspired by the ordeal and some issues that cropped up as a result. I hope to be done with the piece in 2020. It’s called Sticks and Stones Will Break My Bones.

Now for the good news:
“Aurelia” was published in the January-February 2018 issue of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Here’s one review: https://alexclarkmcg.wordpress.com/page/4/Jan 23rd, 2018, Aurelia by Lisa Mason, Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine, Jan/Feb 2018
“Another fantastic piece in what is shaping up to be a fantastic issue of F&SF. While the last piece I read out of this issue, The Equationist by J.D. Moyer, was my favorite story out of the issue at the time, it will have to share the podium with this gem as well–though I like them for very different reasons.
Aurelia is the story of a debaucherous lawyer who is presented with the woman of his dreams. She lives in a manner overlooking the San Francisco Bay, and but a nefarious person is trying to buy her property. She hires the protagonist, Robert, to be her lawyer, but quickly seduces him–though as he is looking for a wife to make himself look more respectable than he already is–the seduction is mutual. They are married within a month, and their sex is like nothing Robert has experienced.
However, Robert still hungers for sexual relations with nearly every woman he comes into contact with. He cheats on his wife with his psychologist, with the intern, with the lowly tax attorney when he is away on a work trip.
And that isn’t all that’s wrong either. Aurelia, Robert’s wife, has an art studio above the garage. He has only been inside once, and only with her permission. It holds a sense of decay and has burlap twine crisscrossing it so that you have to duck and weave around it. Everything about this studio is wrong, in comparison to everything about the manor next door. It is decadent and majestic, while the studio is decaying and dark.
That’s a pretty good set up. Obviously, Aurelia isn’t what she seems, and there are lots of hints along the way for readers to figure out what will happen before it does.
It is a gothic tale, but also rather fairy tale-esk in the telling. A thoroughly enjoyable experience from a writer I’ll certainly look for in the future.” (A)

Finally, “The Bicycle Whisperer” was published in the May-June 2018 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Here’s one review http://sfbookreview.blogspot.com/2018/05/mayjune-2018-fantasy-and-science-fiction.html “Simon’s bicycle runs away. He hires the Lone Rangerette to find her, which she does. LR finds Shimano Stella, calms her down and asks her whether she has run away to get away or to get attention. A lot of story packed into five pages.”

Forthcoming in 2019 is a story “Taiga” in the April 2019 digest of Not One of Us, edited by John Benson. And the REALLY BIG NEWS is that my new high-concept SF novel, CHROME, will be available for pre-order on May 21, 2019 and go on sale on September 24, 2019!

So there you have it, my friends. More stories and novels are on the way!

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I did 200 left-right steps on the stepper, two long indoor walks without the cane, 20 deep knee bends—toe lifts, 10 high knee lifts (taking it easy on that PT, worried I could tear knee cartilage which would be a disaster). Feeling pretty good!

And feeling good about the new review below!

As I mulled over my published short fiction, I found seven wildly different stories with one thing in common–a heroine totally unlike me. I’m the girl next door. I have no idea where these strange ladies came from.

In The Oniomancer (Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine), a Chinese-American punk bicycle messenger finds an artifact on the street. In Guardian (Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine), an African-American gallerist resorts to voodoo to confront a criminal. In Felicitas (Desire Burn: Women Writing from the Dark Side of Passion [Carroll and Graf]), an illegal Mexican immigrant faces life as a cat shapeshifter. In Stripper (Unique Magazine), an exotic dancer battles the Mob. In Triad (Universe 2 [Bantam]), Dana Anad lives half the time as a woman, half the time as a man, and falls in love with a very strange lady. In Destination (Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction), a driver takes three strangers from a ride board on a cross-country trip as the radio reports that a serial killer is on the loose. In Transformation and the Postmodern Identity Crisis (Fantastic Alice [Ace]), Alice considers life after Wonderland.

Five stars on Facebook and Amazon! “Great work, Lisa Mason!”

“Hilarious, provocative, profound.”

From Jeanne-Mary Allen, Author on Facebook and the Book Brothers Blog: “Kyle Wylde and I are thrilled to have found such a talented, dedicated, and brilliant collection of shorts in Strange Ladies: 7 Stories…Your style/craft is highly impressive.”

From the San Francisco Book Review: “Strange Ladies: 7 Stories offers everything you could possibly want, from more traditional science fiction and fantasy tropes to thought-provoking explorations of gender issues and pleasing postmodern humor…This is a must-read collection.” http://anotheruniverse.com/strange-ladies-7-stories/

From the Book Brothers Review Blog: “Lisa Mason might just be the female Philip K. Dick. Like Dick, Mason’s stories are far more than just sci-fi tales, they are brimming with insight into human consciousness and the social condition….Strange Ladies: 7 Stories is a sci-fi collection of excellent quality. If you like deeply crafted worlds with strange, yet relatable characters, then you won’t want to miss it.” http://www.thebookbrothers.com/2013/09/the-book-brothers-review-strange.html#more

5.0 out of 5 starsThis one falls in the must-read category, an appellation that I rarely use.
I have been a fan of Lisa Mason from the beginning of her writing career, but I confess that I often overlook her short fiction. That turns out to have been a big mistake! I have just read Strange Ladies thinking I would revisit a few old friends and discover a few I had missed. Well, I had missed more than I had thought, and I regret that oversight. This collection was so much fun! I loved each and every story and enjoyed their unique twists, turns, and insights. I thank Ms Mason especially, though, for the high note ending with the big smiles in Transformation and the Postmodern Identity Crisis. Uh oh, I guess I still am a child of the summer of love. Well played. You made me laugh at the world and myself.

“I’m quite impressed, not only by the writing, which gleams and sparkles, but also by [Lisa Mason’s] versatility . . . Mason is a wordsmith . . . her modern take on Lewis Carrol’s Alice in Wonderland is a hilarious gem! [This collection] sparkles, whirls, and fizzes. Mason is clearly a writer to follow!”—Amazing Stories

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We’re so excited! The seven books by New York Times Notable Book Author Lisa Mason we are offering as newly reissued beautiful trade paperbacks are now distributed by Barnes and Noble, as well as on Amazon! All are also ebooks available on retailers worldwide, along with Mason’s other titles that are ebooks only.Shop the Internet from the comfort of your home or office or the convenience of wherever you are with your mobile device!
Please click on the title to view the book cover, a book description, and more reviews.

As you can see below, I’ve got lots of stories and novellas, a screenplay and a miniseries, Celestial Girl (A Lily Modjeska Mystery), online as ebooks. Check it out! Celestial Girl will be a trade paperback as soon as we figure out the logistics.

If you would like to receive Lisa Mason’s quarterly newsletter, New Book News, please respond by email to lisasmason@aol.com, enter “Add Me” on the subject line, and it shall be done. You may unsubscribe at any time.

If you enjoy a title, please “Like” it, add five stars, WRITE A REVIEW on the site where you bought it, Tweet it, blog it, post it, and share the word with your family and friends.

We are offering seven books by New York Times Notable Book Author Lisa Mason newly reissued as beautiful trade paperbacks for the year-round book-buying season. All are also ebooks available on retailers worldwide.
Shop the Internet from the comfort of your home or office or the convenience of wherever you are with your mobile device!
Please click on the title to view the book cover, a book description, and more reviews.

If you would like to receive Lisa Mason’s quarterly newsletter, New Book News, please respond by email to lisasmason@aol.com, enter “Add Me” on the subject line, and it shall be done. You may unsubscribe at any time.

As I was reorganizing some files, I came across the full text of this review of Strange Ladies: 7 Stories that was published in the Book Brothers Blog. Here ‘tis:

“When the Book Brothers first received a copy of Strange Ladies: 7 Stories, we were immediately intrigued by the title. What can we say, there has always been a soft spot in our hearts for strange ladies. So, we decided to tackle Strange Ladies immediately and the results were not disappointing (no pun intended).

Strange Ladies is a short and easy read you can probably breeze through in a quiet evening or two. The 7 shorts presented are all entirely different from one another, each creating a vibrant picture of its setting and inhabitants. Even the character dialogue in each story is clearly defined. Lisa Mason does not strike us as an author not willing to take chances.

The first tale is titled, The Oniomancer. It follows a Chinese-American bicycle messenger by the name of Chinadoll. Chinadoll is a punk rocker, living in a world full of eccentric characters. She has a penchant for finding things and one day comes across a strange item in the streets. This object will change her life forever.

Guardian tells the tale of a Vaughn Kennedy, a woman purchasing her first home. Vaughn is very much like you and me, struggling over simple day-to-day decisions. However, when a thief threatens the neighborhood, Vaughn turns to an unlikely source for protection.

The story Felicitas introduces us to yet another Strange Lady. In this tale, we are introduced to a young Mexican illegal immigrant who also happens to be a shape shifter. She sits in her cell awaiting her execution and reflects on her past.

Stripper follows an exotic dancer by the name of Sashi, who has the unique ability to bend the space-time continuum. This story is complex, but has some interesting underlying themes challenging preconceived notions about female sexuality and gender roles. Oh, and she also fights the mafia.

In Triad, we are introduced to Dana Anad, who lives half the time as a woman and the other half as a man. This is another gender bending tale that challenges traditional male/female roles. It is a unique love story not quite like anything we have ever read before.

Destination was inspired by an actual event in Lisa Mason’s life. In it, the female lead, Sal, decides to take three strangers cross-country in exchange for gas money. While they are traveling, the radio warns of a serial killer on the prowl. What starts off as a traditional horror tale soon becomes much more with twists and turns on the road you won’t see coming.

Finally, Transformation and the Postmodern Identity Crisis, tells the story of what happened to Wonderland after Alice decided to stumble through the rabbit hole. This is far darker territory than Tim Burton ever dared take such classic characters, though told with humor and wit.

Each story is cleverly crafted and unique. You won’t feel like you are treading over rehashed plot devices on this journey. This is not literature for those lacking in brain cells. These stories are complex and often require the reader to venture outside of their normal “reality.”

Lisa Mason might just be the female Phillip K. Dick. Like Dick, Mason’s stories are far more than just sci-fi tales, they are brimming with insight into human consciousness and the social condition.Strange Ladies: 7 Stories is a sci-fi collection of excellent quality. If you like deeply crafted worlds with strange, yet relatable characters, then you won’t want to miss it.”
—http://www.thebookbrothers.com/2013/09/the-book-brothers-review-strange.html#more

So there you have it, my friends. I love short stories! Share the love here!

We are offering seven books by New York Times Notable Book AuthorLisa Masonnewly reissued as beautiful trade paperbacks for the year-round book-buying season. All are also ebooks available on retailers worldwide.Shop the Internet from the comfort of your home or office or the convenience of wherever you are with your mobile device!
Please click on the title to view the book cover, a book description, and more reviews.

If you would like to receive Lisa Mason’s quarterly newsletter, New Book News, please respond by email to lisasmason@aol.com, enter “Add Me” on the subject line, and it shall be done. You may unsubscribe at any time.

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